Housing Authority earns honors

The Tuscaloosa Housing Authority has received the most awards among the state’s 147 public housing authorities for the second year in a row.

By Patrick RupinskiBusiness Editor

The Tuscaloosa Housing Authority has received the most awards among the state’s 147 public housing authorities for the second year in a row.The awards were presented in late August at the annual convention of the Alabama Association of Redevelopment Housing Authorities in Panama City, Fla.The authority received four awards:n The Patriot Award, which recognized its commitment to serving the housing needs of disabled and sometimes homeless veterans.n The Phoenix Award, a special recognition of the public housing recovery efforts following the April 27, 2011 tornado. n Excellence in Community Development, which recognized the authority’s interdependent public and private partnerships and the authority’s role in providing quality and affordable housing.n SEMAP High Performer, which recognized the authority’s Section Eight Management Asset Program — a government voucher program that subsidizes rents for people with low-incomes.“It is truly amazing to see that in the last three to four years how things have been turned around in a new direction at the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority,” said Lin Moore, the authority’s chairman.Moore credited the authority’s executive director, Ralph Ruggs, and assistant director, Dino Fort, for creating a new culture and leadership that the authority’s staff and residents have bought into.The authority receives funds from the Tuscaloosa County and the city of Tuscaloosa as well as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which Moore said also were partners in the turn-around.Moore said some of the authority’s accomplishments during the last year include finishing the revitalization of McKenzie Court; the ongoing revitalizing of Rosedale Court, which has finished its second phase of rebuilding and will start its third phase before the end of the year; and the completion of Beatrice Hudson Washington Estates, which includes single-family homes for first-time homeowners who had extensive training on home ownership and in saving for the down payment.Rosedale Court was one of the city’s oldest public housing projects. Much of the development was leveled by the April 27, 2011, tornado. What remained was torn down for the rebuilding that continues.